The New England Patriots entered Sunday’s game with just four wide receiver on the game-day roster: Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism III, and Kyle Williams.
Being without two of their top pass catchers in A.J. Brown and Mack Hollins didn’t slow down New England’s offense. Instead, the remaining group delivered several career-best performances as the Patriots put up 45 points in a blowout win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
“They’re all ready to go,” head coach Mike Vrabel said of the group. “They all play
different positions. That’s not easy, you know, to learn three different positions and being able to step in there and block and make plays. The ball found each and every one of them.”
Doubs (62 snaps) and Chism (career-high 57 snaps) led the group in playing time Sunday. While Doubs made his biggest impact by drawing a pair of defensive pass interference penalties that helped set up touchdowns, Chism led the receivers with five receptions on six targets for a career-high 57 yards.
The biggest plays, however, came from Douglas and Williams.
Douglas opened and closed the scoring, getting wide open for a touchdown on both occasions. Williams, meanwhile, showcased the deep-ball ability he has flashed throughout his Patriots tenure.
That included hauling in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye before the two connected again in the third quarter on a deep post for 49 yards. Williams finished with a career-high 91 receiving yards, a needed performance aafter a slow start to the season.
“Definitely a confidence booster,” Williams said. “Something I really needed to just bring the joy back for me. And it’s back now.”
As the production spread across the room, so did the excitement. For Chism, that reflects the bond the group has built.
“It’s just how much respect we have for everyone’s work ethic on a day-to-day basis,” Chism said. “We all love each other. We’re a tight group, and so I love seeing Kyle score, Rome score, Pop. It’s just awesome. And with Mack and A.J. out — everyone is just so close and tight. It’s an awesome room and I’m very blessed to be a part of it.”
That chemistry is what Vrabel wants to see from his entire team.
“They all care about each other,” Vrabel said. “They’re just as excited for the next guy if it was them, and I think that that’s truly what we want to build around here, you know? And I have to get it to be the entire team. I have to get the entire team to look at it like that.”
